A Chat With Dryjacket

Brad Wyllner: It was actually Joe and I. It came out of a shitty relationship I had with a pretty terrible girl. The best part of it was meeting Joe. She was a friend of his. We were at a party and started talking about music. After that relationship I hit him up, because I was interested in starting a band. I didn’t think he was going to want to be a part of it, but right away he was interested. We met up and talked some more about music and started forming some songs, and then slowly brought on Ian and Adam until we found the right members. That’s basically the start of Dryjacket.

KCR: Did you play in bands before that?

Joe Junod: I have – some of us have. I played in a few small ones, but you guys played in bigger ones.

BW: Yeah, Ian and Adam and I all knew each other longer than we knew Joe. Adam played in a band with my brother, and Ian and I played in bands [together] since we were in sixth grade. So, it seemed like our group of friends was always just mixing members and making different bands over and over. This is just the one that ended up sticking.

Adam Cerdan: We all played in bands, but nothing that we took seriously.

KCR: What did those bands sound like? Did they sound like Dryjacket?

(everyone laughs)

JJ: No, I was in pop punk bands up until this.

AC: Yeah, I did like acoustic solo project stuff.

BW: Yeah, like an indie, pop rock deal, not like this.

KCR: Were you a fan of Hopeless [Records] before you signed to them?

BW: Yeah, I know I can speak for Ian and I [in] that we grew up loving bands that were on Hopeless or still are currently on Hopeless. So, it’s kind of bizarre being label mates with bands that we used to go see every time they came through our area. So yeah, we’re definitely fans of the label and what they’re doing. It’s an honor to be a part of it now.

KCR: What do you like playing more, a house show or a venue show?

BW : They both have their pros and cons. I like doing a little bit of both every now and then.

AC: It depends on how narrow the stairs are (laughs).

JJ: We’ve played some really cool house shows in like backyards and stuff too. I guess…I don’t know if I have a preference.

BW: It doesn’t matter really. A good show is a good show.

JJ: I think we do prefer like smaller, more personal venues.

BW: Even Soda Bar is great for that vibe, because even though it’s a venue it still has that close quarters vibe and low stage.

AC: And you don’t have to have a lot of people come out. At a house show – it feels crowded – it’s good for a band like us (laughs).

KCR: Have you seen a lot while you’ve been touring?

BW: Definitely. We’re a band that likes to squeeze in as much as we can on the drives and stuff like that. We’re suckers for any scenic overlook – to the point that we might even get to the shows late cause we wanna stop and look at everything and take pictures.

KCR: But this isn’t your first national tour, right?

BW: No, this is maybe our third or fourth time on the West Coast. But, it’s still great and it never gets old looking at the views in Colorado and Utah. The drive we did yesterday was just beautiful.

KCR: What else are you doing to pass the time on the road?

BW: For this tour we all got into the show “Black Mirror,” on Netflix.

KCR: Ooh, creepy.

BW: Yeah, and we’ve been obsessed with it. We’ve been watching it together and then discussing it after we watch it.

KCR: I would ask which episode has been your favorite, but it’s more accurate to ask which one has disturbed you the most.

AC: All of them.

BW: The first 5 episodes are very sad. They bummed us out a little bit. But besides that, on previous tours, we played Uno a lot.

AC: We have a soccer ball we kick around.

KCR: What do you think of California compared to the East Coast?

BW: We love it. I mean, I didn’t come out here until I was in this band. None of us had been out here; it was all our first time coming to California.

JJ: No humidity.

KCR: Have you been to San Diego before?

BW: Yes, a couple times. This is the third time I think. We went to La Jolla a couple times, almost every time we’ve been here. Today we went down to…where was the park?

Ian Foley: Torrey Pines.

KCR: Wow, you guys do get out a lot. Did you swim?

BW: Yeah we had like 45 minutes and we ran down.

AC: We pulled off and ran down to the beach and went swimming.

IF: I feel like everytime I see water I’m like, ‘I need to be in that.’ Adam’s with me, we’re always jumping in.

KCR: Who in each of your opinions is the best artist to come from New Jersey?

BW: I almost feel guilty saying anyone and then just skipping over Bruce Springsteen.

IF: Demetri Martin is out of New Jersey.

BW: Yeah true, you didn’t say music artist, just any kind of artist (laughs). I think for me any project that Evan Weiss does has been pretty influential. “Into It. Over It.” is what made me want to start a band like this. So, for this type of band that would probably be mine.

Adam: My mind goes back to early Drive Thru [Records] bands, like Midtown.

IF: The June Spirit.

BW: For the 3 people who know who The June Spirit is (laughs).

KCR: What does “For Posterity” mean to you?

JJ: It’s kind of a couple of things. What it means is to stand for generations. It’s also the first words I heard my dad say. He passed away 25 years ago, and so I never really got to hear him talk. I have an old tape of him that never worked until we transferred it onto DVD this year. My mom was talking about the date and time, like “Hey, it’s Easter 1991,” and my dad cuts her off like, “It’s okay, it’s dated and timed for posterity.” And that’s just a funny phrase for someone to throw out. So, that’s kind of what it means for me. And, for this band and this record we recorded it “for posterity.”